Terminology

 Constitution : Supreme law of a country, containing fundamental rules governing the

policies and society in a country.
 Clause : A distinct section of a document.
 Constituent Assembly : An assembly of people’s representatives that drafts a constitution for
a country.
 Constitutional amendment : A change in the constitution made by the supreme legislative
body in a country.
 Draft : A preliminary version of a legal document.
 Philosophy : The most fundamental principles underlying one’s thoughts and actions.
 Preamble : An introductory statement in a constitution which states the reasons and guiding
values of the constitution.
 Universal adult franchise : Every adult, rich or poor, irrespective of their religion-caste or
education , colour , race, economic conditions, is free to vote.
 African National Congress (ANC) : The umbrella organization that led the struggle against
the policies of segregation.
 Treason : The offence of attempting to overthrow the government of the state for which the
offender owes allegiance.
 Philosophy : The most fundamental principles underlying one’s thought and actions.
 Privilege : A right reserved exclusively by a particular person or group (especially a
hereditary or official right).
 Political party : A group of people with a definite agenda and who intend to acquire power
in the government.
 Minority : A small group of people within a community or country, differing from the main
population in race, religion, language, or political persuasion.
 Tryst : A meeting or meeting place that has been agreed upon.
 Apartheid : The official policy of racial separation and ill-treatment of blacks followed by
the Government of South Africa between 1948 and 1989.

There are certain basic rules that the citizens and the government have to follow. All
such rules together are called the constitution. As the supreme law of the country, the
constitution determines the rights of citizens, the powers of the government and how
the government should function.

Democratic Constitution in South Africa

Struggle against Apartheid 

 Apartheid was the system of racial discrimination or segregation on grounds

of race unique to South Africa. The white Europeans imposed this system on
South Africa. The system of apartheid divided the people and labelled them
 on the basis of their skin colour. The white rulers treated all non-whites as
inferiors.

The apartheid system was particularly oppressive for the blacks.

 The non-whites did not have the voting rights.  

 Blacks could not form associations or protest against the terrible treatment.
 They could work in white areas only if they had a permit.
 They were forbidden from living in white areas.
 They could not even visit the Churches where the whites worshipped.
 Trains, buses, taxis, hotels, hospitals, schools and colleges, libraries, cinema
halls, theatres, beaches, swimming pools, public toilets, were all separate for
the whites and blacks. This was called ‘segregation’.
 The African National Congress (ANC) was the umbrella organization that
led the struggle against the policies of segregation. This included many
workers’ unions and the Communist Party. Many sensitive whites also
joined the ANC to oppose apartheid and played a leading role in this
struggle.

Towards a New Constitution

Finally, at the midnight of 26 April 1994, the new national flag of the Republic of
South Africa was unfurled, marking the newly-born democracy in the world. The
apartheid government came to an end, paving way for the formation of a multi-
racial government.

After two years of discussion and debate, they came out with one of the finest
constitutions the world has ever had. The characteristics of the South African
Constitution are :

 This constitution gave to its citizens the most extensive rights available in
any country.
 Together, they decided that in the search for a solution to the problems,
nobody should be excluded; no one should be treated as a demon.
 They agreed that everybody should become part of the solution.

Struggle Against Apartheid in South Africa

(i) Nelson Mandela and seven other leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment in
1964 for daring to oppose the apartheid regime in his country.

(ii) Apartheid was the name of a system of racial discrimination unique to South

Africa, which was imposed by the white Europeans on the blacks.

(iii) During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the trading companies from
Europe occupied South Africa.
(iv) The native people of South Africa are black in colour and make up three-
fourth of the population.

(v) Apart from the white Europeans and black natives there were people of mixed
races who were called ‘coloured’ and also people who migrated from India.

(vi) The white rulers treated all non-whites as inferiors.

(vii) The non-whites did not have voting rights.

(viii) In the Apartheid system, the blacks were forbidden from living in white
areas. They could work in white areas only if they had a permit.

(ix) Trains, buses, taxis, hotels, hospitals, schools, colleges, libraries, cinema halls,
theatres, beaches, swimming pools, public toilets, etc were all separate for the
whites and black. This was called segregation.

(x) In 1950, the blacks, coloured and Indians fought against the apartheid system.
They launched protest marches and strikes.

(xi) The African National Congress (ANC) was the umbrella organisation that led
the struggle against the policies of segregation.

(xii) This included many workers’ unions and the communist party. Many sensitive
whites also joined the ANC to oppose apartheid and played a leading role in this
struggle.

(xiii) Several countries denounced apartheid as unjust and racist.

(xiv) But the white racist government continued to rule by detaining and killing
thousands of black and coloured people.

Towards a New Constitution

(i) The protests and struggles against apartheid increased. The government realised
that it could not keep the blacks under their rule through repression.

(ii) The white government changed its policies. Discriminatory laws were repealed.
Ban on political parties and restrictions on media were lifted.

(iii) After 28 years of imprisonment Nelson Mandela walked out of jail as a free
man.
(iv) On 26th April, 1994, the new national flag of the Republic of South Africa was
unfurled, marking the birth of a new democracy in the world.

(v) The apartheid came to an end, paving the way for the formation of a multi-
racial government.

(vi) Black leaders appealed to fellow blacks to forgive the whites for the atrocities
they had committed while in power.

(vii) After two years of discussion and debate, the whites and the blacks came out
with one of the finest Constitutions the world has ever had.

(viii) The Constitutions gave to its citizens the most extensive rights available in
any country.

(ix) The South African Constitution inspires democrats all over the world.

(x) The change was possible because of the determination of the people of South
Africa to work together to transform bitter experiences into the binding glue of a
rainbow nation.

Why do We Need a Constitution

 The constitution of a country is a set of written rules that are accepted by all
people living together in a country. The constitution is the supreme law that
determines the relationship among people living in a territory and also
the relationship between the people and government.
A constitution does many things : 
1. It generates a degree of trust and coordination that is necessary for different
kind of people to live together.
2. It specifies how the government will be constituted, who will have power to
take which decisions. lIt lays down limits on the powers of the government
and tells us the rights of the citizens.
3. It expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good society.
All countries that have constitutions are not necessarily democratic. But, all
countries that are democratic will have constitutions.
(i) The South African example is a good way to understand why we need a
Constitution and what do Constitutions do.

(ii) The oppressor and the oppressed in this new democracy were planning to live
together as equals.
(iii) Both wanted to safeguard their interests.

(iv) The black majority was keen to ensure that the democratic principle of
majority rule was not compromised. They wanted socio-economic rights.

(v) The white minority was keen to protect its privileges and property.

(vi) After long negotiations both parties agreed to compromise.

(vii) The whites agreed to the principle of majority rule and that of one person one
vote.

(viii) The blacks agreed that the majority rule would not be absolute.

(ix) The blacks agreed that the majority would not take away the property of the
white minority.

(x) The only way to maintain trust in such a situation is to write down some rules
and regulations that everyone would abide by.

(xi) These rules lay down how the rulers are to be chosen in future.

(xii) These rules also lay down what the elected governments are empowered to do
and what they cannot do. Finally, these rules decide the rights of the citizens.

(xiii) They also decided that these rules will be supreme, that no government will
be able to ignore these.

(xiv) The set of basic rules is called a constitution.

Significance of a Constitution

(i) The Constitution of a country is a set of written rules that are accepted by all
people living together in a country.

(ii) The Constitution is the supreme law that determines the relationship among the
people living in a territory (called citizens) and also the relationship between the
people and
the government.

(iii) A Constitution does Many Things

(a) First, it generates a degree of trust and co-ordination that is necessary for
different kind of people to live together.
(b) Second, it specifies how the government will be constituted and who will have
power to take which decisions.

(c) Third, it lays down limits on the powers of the government and tells us what the
rights of the citizens are.

(d) Fourth, it expresses the aspirations of the people about creating a good society.

(e) All countries that have Constitutions are not necessarily democratic. But all
countries that are democratic will have Constitutions.

(f) It has become a practice in all democracies to have a written Constitution.

Making of the Indian Constitution

(i) The making of the Constitution for a huge and diverse country like India was
not an easy affair.

(ii) The country was born through a partition on the basis of religious differences.
Which was a traumatic experience for the people of India and Pakistan.

(iii) The merger of the princely states was a difficult and uncertain task.

The Path to Constitution

(i) In 1928, Motilal Nehru and eight other Congress leaders drafted a Constitution
for India.

(ii) In 1931, the resolution at the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress
dwelt on how independent India’s Constitution should look like.

(iii) Both these documents were committed to the inclusion of universal adult
franchise, right to freedom and equality and to protecting the rights of minorities in
the Constitution of independent India. Thus, some basic values were accepted by
all leaders.

(iv) The Indian Constitution adopted many institutional details and procedures
from the colonial laws like the Government of India Act 1935.

(v) Many of our leaders were inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, the
practice of Parliamentary democracy in Britain and the Bill of Right.o in the US.

(vi) The Socialist Revolution in Russia had inspired many Indians to think of
shaping a system based on social and economic equality.
(vii) All these factors contributed to the making of our Constitution.

The Constituent Assembly

(i) The drafting of the Constitution was done by an assembly of elected

representatives called the Constituent Assembly.

(ii) Elections to the Constituent Assembly were held in July 1946. Its first meeting
was held in December 1946.

(iii) The Constituent Assembly was divided into the Constituent Assembly of India
and that of Pakistan after the partition.

(iv) The Constituent Assembly that wrote  the Indian Constitution had 299
members.

(v) The Assembly adopted the constitution on 26th November 1949.

(vi) The Constitution came into effect on 26th January, 1950.To mark this day, we
celebrate January 26 as Republic Day every year.

We Accept the Constitution

(i) We accepted the Constitution made by the Constituent Assembly more than 50
years ago.
(a) The Constitution does not reflect the views of its members alone, it expresses a
broad consensus of its time.
(b) The second reason for accepting the Constitution is that the Constituent
Assembly represented the people of India. There was no universal adult franchise
and it could not be chosen directly by all the people of India.The Constituent
Assembly was elected by the members of the existing Provincial Legislatures. This
ensured a fair geographical share of members from all the regions of the country.

(ii) Finally, the manner in which the Constituent Assembly worked gives sanctity
to the Constitution.

(iii) The Constituent Assembly worked in a systematic open and consensual

manner.

(iv) First some basic principles were decided and agreed upon.

(v) A Drafting Committee chaired by Dr BR Ambedkar prepared a draft

Constitution for discussion. Discussion took place on the Draft Constitution clause
by clause.
(vi) More than 2000 amendments were considered.

(vii) The members deliberated for 114 days spread over 3 years.

(viii) Every document presented and every word spoken in the Constituent
Assembly has been recorded and preserved. These are called ‘Constituent
Assembly Debates’ printed in 12 bulky volumes. These debates provide the
rationale behind every provision of the Constitution. These are used to interpret the
meaning of the Constitution.
The Guiding Values of the Indian Constitution

(i) Mahatma Gandhi was not a member of the Constituent Assembly, there were
many members who followed his vision.

(ii) Writing in his magazine Young India in 1931, Gandhiji had spelt out what he
wanted the Constitution to do. He visualised for a country, where all communities
should live in perfect harmony. India will be free from the curse of untouchability,
intoxicating drinks and drugs. Men and women will enjoy the same rights.

(iii) BR Ambedkar played a key role in the making of the Constitution but he
differed with Gandhiji on how inequalities should be removed. He often bitterly
criticised Mahatma Gandhi and his vision.

Philosophy of the Constitution

(i) The values that inspired and guided the freedom struggle formed the foundation
for India’s democracy.

(ii) These values are embedded in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.

(iii) They guide all the articles of the Indian Constitution. The Constitution begins
with a short statement of its basic values. This is called the Preamble to the
Constitution.

(iv) Most countries in the contemporary world have chosen to begin their
Constitutions with a Preamble like American Constitution.

(v) The Preamble of the Constitution contains the philosophy on which the entire
Constitution has been built. It is the soul of the Indian Constitution.

(vi) The Preamble of the Constitution of India reads like a poem on democracy.

(vii) It provides a standard to examine and evaluate any law and action of
government.
(viii) The Preamble of the Indian Constitution.

The Constitution of India is preceded by a Preamble which outlines its aims and
objectives. It reads “We the People of India. having solemnly resoloved to
constitute India into a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic and to
secure to all its citizens Justice Social, Economic And Political; Liberty of thought,
expression, belief, faith and worship; Equality of status and of opportunity; and to
promote among them all; Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the
unity and integrity of the nation; In Our Constituent Assembly this twenty-sixth
day of November, 1949 do Hereby Adopt, Enact and give to Ourselves this
Constitution.”

Institutional Design
(i) The Constitution is not merely a statement of values and philosophy.
(ii) A Constitution is about embodying these values into institutional arrangements.

(iii) Much of the document called Constitution of India is about these

arrangements.

(iv) It is very long and detailed document, therefore it needs to be amended quite
regularly to keep it updated.

(v) Those who crafted the Indian Constitution fell that it has to be in accordance
with people’s aspirations and changes in society.

(vi) Changes are made in the Constitution from time to time and these changes are
called Constitutional Amendments.

(vii) The Constitution describes the institutional arrangements in a very legal

language.

(viii) The Constitution lays down the procedure for choosing persons to govern the
country.

(ix) It defines who will have how much power to take which decisions.

(x) It puts limits on what the government can do by providing some rights to the
citizens that cannot be violated.